Timesplitters Reborn
by RainingMetal
Summary: My own narration of the events taking place between Timesplitters 1 and Timesplitters: Future Perfect.
1. Chapter 1: Preparation

Timesplitters: Reborn

Chapter 1: Preparation

The year is 2401. Mankind is in a bitter conflict with the sinister race known as the Timesplitters, determined to defeat humankind in their goal of conquest. Recently, the Timesplitters managed to develop a Time Machine on a distant Space Station. Its only power sources were Time Crystals, a valuable material linked to the origins of the Timesplitters. Knowing that the use of Time Travel by the Timesplitters would cause disaster in Humanity's past, and hence, its future, the humans would strike back at the Timesplitters. They would steal the Time Crystals, not only depriving the Timesplitters of the objects required to use their time machine, but allowing mankind to use the crystals to power up a time machine of its own. The leader of the platoon assigned to fulfil this task, known only as The General, knew that for the best chances of success, he would need to prepare his troops.

"Fellow troops, we have been assigned a task that may very well change the tide of this war. So far, we have been fighting a losing battle, and I will not stand by and allow this to happen!" The General addressed to his troops. An overwhelming applause filled the room.

"If we accomplish this mission, Humanity will be saved. Therefore, before we embark on this crusade, we must be fully prepared. Everyone head to the training facility!" The General continued. After his speech, everyone headed to the training area.

Amongst those troops was Captain Duncan Cortez, a bald, but brave commando. He had eye implants that rescued him from blindness when he was ten, and was devoted to taking advantage of the sense of sight ever since. Cortez could easily adapt to any combat situation.

There was also Lieutenant Clara Hart, a Femme Fatale that was specialized in Engineering. With her talents, she had built a powerful mechanical arm that would enhance the potential of her right. Due to a traumatizing event involving toxic gases, she always wore a gas mask on her face.

Another individual under the General's command was Sergeant Roger Locke, a brilliant soldier. He was a genius at navigations and problem solving, as well as using communications equipment, such as radios. Many of his ancestors were devoted radiomen, all the way to the First World War (since he was British, WW1 was more significant to him). Because of this, he fought hard to earn respect to his family name.

The General and his platoon walked into the training room. The room had many objects that looked like outhouses.

"These 'outhouses,'" The General said, "are some of our time machines. Unlike our more powerful time machine in development, since they do not utilize the Time Crystals, you will not remain as yourself when you go back in time. Instead, you will occupy the consciousness of another individual. While in the bodies of these individuals, you will be required to retrieve a certain object and return back from wherever you started from. This will be your training exercise before you head to the Timesplitter Space Station.

"Be warned, the Timesplitters know that we will be time-travelling, so they'll likely use their time device in order to ambush you in your missions. Don't be afraid to kill them with whatever you have."

The General's soldiers followed his instructions and began their training exercises. Cortez and Hart in particular went through many dangerous adventures, taking the form of Archaeologists, Policemen, and even as robot Mercenaries!

In a short matter of time, the General's troops had finished up all of their training exercises. As some engineers prepared the spacecraft for launch, the General spoke to his troops once more.

"Now that you've completed your training, I'm afraid to tell you that only six of you will be able to embark on this mission. Cortez, Hart, Locke, Greenwood, Johnson, and Bailey, you are those six people.

"A few of our men have recently sent the coordinates of the Space Station's location." The General handed a slip of paper with the coordinates on it to Cortez. "Don't bother trying to search for them though. Judging by the way those barbaric aliens fight, those men are likely already dead.

"While you're attacking the station, I'll be able to keep in contact with you via radio." The General gave the six soldiers what looked like mechanical wristbands. "These are Temporal Uplinks. With it, I can contact you through the built-in radio. You can also talk with each other through the radio in case you get separated. If you must time travel, it will also remain with you while you're in the body of another being in the era you're travelling."

One of the engineers came up to the General and said, "Sir, the spacecraft is ready."

"Good," the General replied, "Cortez, get your men on board."

"Yes general," answered Cortez. He and the other troopers approached the spaceship. Its rear opened by lowering the ramp protecting the back. The troopers then entered the shuttle.

"God speed!" the General said loudly as the shuttle flew out of the hangar and into the sky. The General then headed towards the communications centre.

Very soon, the space shuttle had reached the void of space. Inside, the six people on board were getting to know each other.

"Enter the space station, take the crystals, start the self-destruction sequence, and escape. This shouldn't take long," boasted Private Bailey.

"Don't be so sure, Private," said Hart in her Brooklyn accent, "The way the 'Splitters fight, they could easily catch us off guard if we aren't careful."

"If they do manage to do that, they won't be an even match against my sniper rifle!" said Locke with a smug grin. Meanwhile, Private Greenwood was poking a drowsy Private Johnson.

"Hey Johnson, you sleeping over there? You want me to fluff your pillow for ya?" asked Greenwood sarcastically.

"Step off Greenwood," mumbled Johnson, "I'm trying to get some rest before it's showtime."

"Alright everyone! Listen up!" said Cortez, "Since this is a very important mission, we'll need to go over the types of 'Splitters we'll likely encounter. Hart, put the ship into autopilot." Cortez then projected an image of a Timesplitter that had an open mouth, a spiky backbone, and hands resembling scythes. In its mouth was a long tongue. Surrounding the inside edges of the mouth were tentacles sticking out

"This 'Splitter is the Reaper Splitter, the main combat unit of the Timesplitters. They often attack with lightning bolts. They are also capable of teleporting by turning invisible and reappearing somewhere else," explained Cortez.

The next Timesplitter on display had large teeth, horns, and metal kneecaps. "That must be a Berserker Splitter," said Greenwood, "They also have electric attacks and can turn translucent. Good thing they can't teleport, but boy, do they ever pack a punch!"

The final 'Splitter projected was the most human-like, if wearing two-legged pants and a buckle was considered human-like. It had a purple head with two yellow eyes that didn't have a neck to connect to its body. In its skeletal chest was a purple fire.

"Ah, the Scourge 'Splitters," commented Hart, "The meanest of the bunch. They often give orders to the lesser 'Splitters, and they know how to use any weapon from any era."

"I've heard rumours that the Timesplitters have enslaved another alien race for their war machine. Is that true?" asked Bailey.

"Yes," answered Locke, "and they will try to stop you with their fists. Consider all drones hostile."

"The fallen squad at the space station not only managed to send us its location, but the interior blueprints as well," said Cortez. A hologram of the space station appeared in the middle of the ship.

"We'll park the ship here, at the main hangar," explained Cortez, pointing at the bottom end of the station. "Once the hangar is clear, we'll take the elevator up to the second level. From there, we fight our way to another elevator leading to the top of the station. Then we storm the Time Machine, steal the Time Crystals, activate the station's self-destruct sequence, and return to the ship for extraction before the station blows."

As Cortez turned off the projector, Johnson woke up from his sleep. The first thing he noticed was that the space station was in sight.

"We're closing in on the station!" exclaimed Johnson.

"Alright, everyone into positions!" said Cortez. Hart shut down the autopilot and control of the ship was back in her hands. The rest of the squad grabbed their weapons.

"Gonna be like training," Hart spoke to Cortez, "Go in, grab an object, and return back to where we started."

"You two were actually paired up in training?" asked Johnson. He did not get a response.


	2. Chapter 2: Storming the Front

Chapter 2: Storming the Front

On the space station, a pale corpse of a human soldier in a protective suit was lying down on the highest floor. A Reaper Splitter walked by and threw the body off the edge. There was no need for corpses in Timesplitter installations. At the top, the Timesplitters were testing the time machine once again to see if it would work. It managed to work; its portal rippled outward in a circular motion as the Timesplitters watched in awe.

Meanwhile, the human ship was nearing the Space Station,

"Alpha Base, do you copy? Over." said Hart over the ship's radio.

"Roger," responded the General on the other end of the radio, "You are clear to go. Proceed as planned and good luck!"

"We need to move fast," said Locke, "Additional Intel indicates that the space station may be on low alert, but the place is riddled with turrets. If the 'Splitters manage to turn them back on, it will be harder for us to get in, or out of the station."

The shuttle began to park on the docking bay. Unfortunately, a group of Reaper and Berserker Splitters were there. In a moment's notice, the Splitters ran to the ship, identifying it as human.

"Activate ship cannons!" hollered Johnson.

The ship's guns popped out from underneath the ship's wings and massacred all but a single Timesplitter in the hangar. The lone survivor managed to escape to the elevator.

"Damn! He went into the lift!" grumbled Bailey, "This place will be crawling with 'Splitters in no time!"

The ship lowered its ramp. "Okay, move out!" ordered Hart, "Bring the lift back to our level Greenwood!"

Greenwood approached the elevator controls and pressed its only button. Suddenly, a gunshot echoed throughout the hangar and Johnson collapsed on the floor, dead.

"Sniper!" shouted Greenwood as he and the other remaining soldiers headed for cover. Locke knew where the shot came from. He examined the bay windows on the walls of the hangar with the scope on his sniper rifle. In one of the bay windows was a Scourge Splitter armed with a sniper rifle of its own. Locke fired and the 'Splitter was killed by a laser directly through the head. By this time, the elevator was back at the hangar.

"The docking bay's clear," announced Cortez.

"Go!" yelled Hart. The five remaining commandos boarded the elevator. Cortez pressed the button, and the elevator began to rise up to the second floor.

"You've got a patrol on level two," the General said as the lift approached the next floor. When the elevator arrived at the second floor, there was indeed a group of Timesplitters waiting near the elevator. The five soldiers managed to take them out.

"Incoming! On your right!" yelled the General. There was a Reaper Splitter to the right at the intersection.

"Yeah," Cortez smiled as he threw a grenade at the alien. The explosion was heard from the highest level.

"Good work," complimented the General. Our heroes moved onto the left. As soon as the next elevator was in sight, Greenwood noticed that more Timesplitters were in pursuit.

"Take the lift and move on!" hollered Greenwood, "I'll stall them a bit!"

The other four marines went up the elevator, leaving Greenwood behind with the Timesplitters. Greenwood pulled out a grenade, pulled out its pin, and shouted his war cry.

This explosion was also heard from the top floor. The Timesplitters there knew what that meant; their security has been breached. In a desperate attempt to slow down the intruders, the Timesplitters disconnected the Time Crystals from the machine's control panel.

"We've detected a power surge on the bridge," the General alerted the four soldiers as they advanced after making it up the elevator. As they did, the Timesplitters each grabbed a crystal and jumped into the time machine leading to random locations and time zones. Suddenly, the door to the machine opened. Cortez, Hart, Locke, and Bailey shot a few rounds at some Timesplitters.

"Looks like we're too late," uttered Hart in defeat, "they're already moving the crystals!"

"Cover me! I'm going in!" yelled Cortez as he rushed through the door, shooting. The other soldiers followed him. Cortez was too late to stop the last Timesplitter holding a Time Crystal from jumping into the machine's portal.

"Watch out!" cried Cortez. More Timesplitters had snuck up from behind! One of them had zapped Bailey.

"Man down! Man down!" screamed Locke. In the midst of the battle, Hard shot the gate controls, causing the gate to close, trapping a Timesplitter in between the gate doors.

Lock exhaled and said "You two go on, I'll hold them off here," and ran to the time machine panel.

"Looks like the Splitters forgot to erase their travel records," reported Locke, "We can use them to track down the Crystals."

Lock pressed a few buttons. "One of them is at Oblask Dam, Siberia, 1990," he suggested.

"We'll start there," Cortez agreed. Just as he and Hart were about to go through the portal, Locke had one more thing to say to them.

"Good luck."

"Thanks," saluted Cortez and Hart. They then jumped into the portal.


	3. Chapter 3: Siberia, 1990

Chapter 3: Siberia, 1990

On the road, a truck was heading towards Oblask Dam. The nearby research facility was abandoned by its science team, and was now occupied by a renegade splinter cell. Russian officials suspected that the rogue army had now discovered a specimen within the facility. Much of their attempts to use this specimen for their own purposes have had dreadful results. Since a viral outbreak may be possible, the Russian Military has sent in two of their finest commandos to sabotage the base. In that truck were those two brave commandos.

The one driving was Ilsa Nadir, daughter of the mutant-researching scientist Dr. Katje Nadir. Since Ilsa's mother told her everything about mutants, Ilsa was prepared for the worst to happen in this operation. She also was a pyromaniac, obsessed with fire.

The passenger's name was Gregor Lenko, codenamed "The Russian bear". Gregor was a large, muscular man with a thick moustache. He was an expert marksman; he missed on only 5% of his sniper shots. Of those successful shots, 17 out of 20 of them managed to hit the heads of his victims. He also managed to infiltrate bases by shooting cameras in the lenses.

As the truck drove on, a border gate next to a tunnel leading to Oblask Dam would soon be breached. The two guards there noticed the truck accelerating in their direction. One of them went on the road and waved at the truck with both arms, hoping that it would stop. Instead, the truck sped up, driving into the guard, breaking the gate, and preceded through the tunnel.

The other guard yelled into his radio, "The perimeter has been breached!"

Moments later, in the Dam, the renegade army's leader, Dogan Borov, was telling his followers about the situation. Borov had a goatee and a black, flat haircut. He often wore sunglasses.

"Since our security has been compromised, you must all get to your posts. Activate all cameras and turrets. Shut off the power so that they cannot use the Dam's elevators or touch our biohazard container. Hide the disk that activates the power generators in laboratory two. Now move out!" ordered Borov.

All the troops scattered to their positions. One of them, however, thought he heard gunshots towards the research building. His name was Nikolai, a curious soldier. He brought out his flashlight and headed towards the labs. His partner, Sergeant Sergei Shivers, followed quietly behind.

Meanwhile, the truck carrying the two agents suddenly popped a tire, causing it to swerve, making the truck block the tunnel. Fortunately, it stopped near the end of the tunnel, as the Dam was in sight. Just as Ilsa and Gregor were about to exit the vehicle, a portal appeared in front of them. Cortez and Hart jumped through the portal. Cortez morphed into Ilsa, and Hart turned into Gregor. The bodies of the Russian operatives were now in the control of the space troopers. The two observed their surroundings and their hands, realizing that without the Time Crystals being used in the time machine, Cortez and Hart would be forced to inhabit the bodies of others in order to hunt down the crystals.

Ilsa and Gregor stood up and Ilsa said, "It's all down to us now." With Greenwood, Johnson, and Bailey killed, and Lock left behind to secure the time machine, the fate of the war would mostly be in their hands.

Oblask Dam was huge. It was almost as tall as the mountains that surrounded it and the river above. The tunnel to Oblask Dam led to a radio station below the dam. Both the upper and the lower levels of the dam were separated by the frozen river. On the opposite lower end of the river from the radio station was the research building.

Ilsa and Gregor's first task in their mission was to sever the communications at the radio station. On the top of the main building was a satellite dish.

Gregor pulled out his Dragunov SVD rifle and aimed it at a camera on the main building. He pulled the trigger and the camera was no more. Since his rifle was silenced, his shot did not alert the base. He then looked at the fences and saw a guard behind the fence on his daily patrol. Gregor dispatched him with a direct shot in the head.

Ilsa advanced through the gap in the fence. She looked through the window of the door belonging to the nearest building. Inside was a shelf containing a box of timed mines. The door was locked, so Ilsa sneaked around the edge of the base to another small building. Ilsa looked through the window of its door. A soldier was watching through another window of the building, unaware of Ilsa's presence. Ilsa fired her silent PPK pistol through the door window, killing the victim.

Ilsa crept along the side of the building the late soldier was facing. She observed to the left at the corner. A female guard was on watch, and a camera was hung on the corner of the same building nearest to the guard. Ilsa assassinated the girly rebel and neutralized the camera. The building closest to the dam contained a box of sniper rifle ammo. Ilsa grabbed the ammo and went to the edge of the outpost that was closest to the river. To her right was an officer in a balaclava about to turn towards Ilsa. Ilsa hastily shot him in the face, killing him. Ilsa went up the stairs on the outside of the building with the satellite dish. On the second level of the stairs was another officer. Ilsa leaped onto the officer, pinned him down on the floor, and put her hand over his face, suffocating him. Ilsa gave Gregor the signal to regroup, who was still next to the tunnel.

Gregor and Ilsa met inside the second floor of the satellite building. Gregor then approached the room's control panel.

"There's no way to deactivate the dish with the controls; somebody's password is protecting this thing. Ilsa, we may need to use explosives to hamper communications," Gregor reported.

"No problem," replied Ilsa, "I saw a box of timed mines inside one of these buildings earlier. Unfortunately, it's locked from the inside."

"Find another way into that building. I'll try to open the gate to the dam."

Ilsa went back outside and looked to her left. There were wooden planks spread across the rooftops of the smaller buildings. The building that contained the mines had a window in the ceiling.

Ilsa crossed the wooden planks. Just as she was about to hop down through the window, a bullet passed her from behind and ricocheted off the roof. Ilsa turned around and brought out her own sniper rifle. She looked through the scope and scanned the Dam. Through the window on the high end of the dam on the opposite side of the river was a sniper. Ilsa executed him before he could cause any more trouble. She jumped down through the window, took the mines, and went out through the door.

Ilsa headed towards the radio building and threw a mine onto the dish. A few beeps later, the mine exploded, sending the dish into the air and then into the river. Gregor approached Ilsa.

"Now that the enemy's communications are down, we can infiltrate the research facility without the entire splinter cell knowing," said Gregor, "The best way to get across the river to the other side is to trek through the dam."

"Hello? Hello!" said a voice. It was Locke contacting through the uplink's radio.

"Yes?" asked Ilsa.

"Since it looks like the General's radio signal is too far away from the time machine to reach you in time, it looks like I'll have to guide you on your adventures.

"You will indeed have to cross the dam in order to reach the laboratories. To get across, you must go five stories high to reach the halls above the turbines, then go back down five floors to reach the other side of the river. Don't bother trying to use the elevators though; the enemy knew you were coming and have shut down the power."

"I've managed to open the dam gates on this side," said Gregor. Just as the two were about to enter the dam, Gregor glanced across the river at the laboratory building. The exit from the dam on the other side of the river was being watched by a camera mounted on the building. Gregor used his sniper rifle to disable the camera.

Ilsa and Gregor proceeded into the dam and up the stairs inside. The floor levels were labelled on the walls as they went upward. A leaky steam pipe was in the way on the first floor. Ilsa and Gregor crouched underneath the steam caused by the pipe. The second floor of the stairwell was guarded by another officer. Gregor fired his pistol at the officer's head. In between floors two and three was a camera mounted next to two explosive barrels. Ilsa shot the barrels, causing the camera to get caught in the explosion. On the third floor was another guard about to go down the stairs to check out the explosion below. Ilsa shot his head before he could call for help. Ilsa and Gregor kept going up more stairs until they were at the fifth floor.

Ilsa peeked through the door's window leading to the hallway. A soldier was on guard in front of a big box. Ilsa shot his head through the window. Ilsa quietly opened the door and the two agents crept to the room on the left. It contained an AK-47 rifle, two Kevlar vests, and a pipe with a valve and a gauge. Ilsa and Gregor added the rifle to their arsenal and they equipped the vests. They went back to the hallway and turned left. Beside the box was another guard facing away from the invaders. Gregor plugged his with the pistol. This attracted the attention of other guards in the hallway. Ilsa and Gregor fired at the two alerted guards, causing two more soldiers to come to their aid. They were also killed by the Russian heroes.

The end opposite of where Ilsa and Gregor came through in the hallway was blocked by steam, which was caused by another leaky gas pipe. This time, there was no way to dodge around it.

"We need to find a way to shut down the gas pipe," said Gregor. Then Ilsa remembered something.

"There was a valve in the room where we found the assault rifle and armour," suggested Ilsa, "Perhaps the steam will go away if we turn it."

They headed back and turned the valve. The speakers in the hall said "Steam pressure at 66%." Ilsa and Gregor found two more valves in the corridor. Turning them off also shut off the steam in the leak.

Ilsa and Gregor advanced to another stairwell leading down to the other side of the dam. Between floors four and three was a guard that noticed the two intruders as they went down the stairs. Ilsa quickly subdued him before he could blow their cover. Between levels three and two was a shelf containing more ammunition and armour. There were also two more soldiers heading down the stairwell. Gregor knocked them out with a knock to the head from behind.

Meanwhile, as Ilsa and Gregor were travelling through the dam, Nikolai managed to get into the research facility with Sergei following behind. He even managed to breach the security doors. When he reached the digging site, he heard noises from the mine's dark halls. More gunfire. He took out his flashlight and walked further into the site. Nikolai was observing the corridor when suddenly-

"Nikolai!" a voice exclaimed quietly. At the same time, someone poked Nikolai in the shoulder. He turned around in his surprise and found Sergei urging him to quiet down. Nikolai grumbled.

"We shouldn't be in the research centre without security clearance," protested Sergei.

"I'm telling you," explained Nikolai, "I heard gunshots!"

"They'll kill us if they find out!" pleaded Sergei. Nikolai rolled his eyes in exasperation and told Sergei,

"Come on, coward." Nikolai kept walking further into the mines, being followed closely by Sergei.

As they went deeper and deeper, Sergei started to notice unremoved corpses lying on the ground, much to his horror. When they reached the dead end in the mines, Nikolai found something glowing beneath the sand on the ground.

"What's this?" asked Nikolai to himself. He unearthed the object and picked it up. "This some sort of green crystal?" Suddenly, the flashlight went out.

"Nikolai!" warned Sergei, "The light!"

"Stupid torch!" muttered Nikolai, "Does nothing in this army work!" While Nikolai was trying to get the flashlight to work again, Sergei sniffed, then gasped. The oder he smelled was not at all normal. Sergei poked Nikolai in the shoulder again. Nikolai glared at Sergei, and then he looked forward again.

The first thing he and Sergei noticed was a tall, pale, souless figure towering above them. It was wearing a uniform like the ones Nikolai and Sergei were wearing. The best word to describe this creature was "Zombie".

The only thing Nikolai or Sergei could do now, paralysed with fear, was scream. The zombie roared back, turning the two unlucky soldiers completely white. The zombie then whacked the duo on the floor, causing the flashlight and the crystal to fall on the sand.

Back at the dam, Ilsa and Gregor reached the bottom level of the structure. Just as they were about to head outside, Ilsa began to worry.

"Gregor, I have a bad feeling that this mission might have taken a turn for the unnatural," said Ilsa.

"That's what we've been training for," replied Gregor, "Let's complete this mission and head on home."

"The time crystal is located deep inside the research centre," said Locke through the radio, "but it may be possible that you will face against zombies here. Be careful."


	4. Chapter 4: Evolution of Evil

Chapter 4: Evolution of Evil

Gregor opened the door leading outdoors. As he stepped outside, a bullet zoomed into the wall near Gregor. He quickly pulled out his sniper rifle and took a look at the dam window. Another sniper was watching the exterior of the facility. Gregor shot him in the head with his rifle. He and Ilsa climbed the stairs. To the left and right were some patrolling guards. Ilsa and Gregor dispatched the two of them. Another soldier was guarding the entrance to the building. Ilsa plugged a bullet into the back of the head. Then the duo headed inside.

Ilsa and Gregor found themselves inside a room with shelves holding boxes and watermelons. There were two guards in the room, one patrolling across the room, the other standing close to an alarm switch. Ilsa killed the patrolling guard while Gregor tackled the other soldier before he could sound the alarm. In the room was a flight of stairs going downward.

The pair went down the stairs. There was a shower nearby with no one inside. The next room had a pair of soldiers and a camera. The camera was neutralized and the guards were silently killed by the two agents. The room had a stairwell leading down to the power generators. When Ilsa and Gregor went down the stairs, a few construction boards were in front of the stairwell on this floor. They went around the boards to the left and were immediately detected by an officer. Even though he was shot by Gregor, this attracted more attention to three more guards in the area. Ilsa killed the two guards near the generators while Gregor threw his gun at the third soldier next to another stairwell going up, knocking him out cold.

Since the generator room was two floors high, the control room one floor up was in sight through the windows. It was connected to the stairs near the unconscious soldier. There was also a locked security door in the room.

"Now that the room's secure, let's go open the security door," suggested Ilsa as she was about to go up the stairs.

"Wait!" exclaimed Gregor, pointing up to the ceiling. There were two turrets mounted on the ceiling, scanning the control room for intruders. Ilsa knew that Gregor had to neutralize this threat. Gregor went onto a catwalk constructed over the generators to get a good shot at the turrets from behind. He aimed at an attached cube on the turret with his sniper rifle. Gregor knew what he was doing; the cube was actually a lens for the turret's eyesight. Without it, the turret would be blind and completely harmless. Gregor did the same with the other gun.

The operatives then went into the control room. The main terminal that would restore the power to the dam would require a certain disk. There was also a button on the terminal. Gregor pressed the button, and the security door opened.

Ilsa and Gregor assumed that the disk that would charge up the terminal would be located in one of the laboratories. Gregor decided that he and Ilsa should search in lab 2.

The couple entered through the door. To the left was a small room with controls on it, along with a window revealing the airlock leading to the next portion of the lab. The airlock had an inactive ceiling turret and a soldier armed with a SPAS-12 Shotgun.

Ilsa took control of the turret, shot the guard in the head, and opened the two doors. She and Gregor advanced to the next chamber.

On the floor in the chamber were some corpses lying around, motionless. The chamber also had a resuscitation bed and a mobile shelf inside an area that was mostly surrounded by glass panes. One of the glass panes had some x-rays of one of the creatures the ultranationalists were studying. Ilsa and Gregor advanced to this area.

"No!" shouted someone in the room, "This is my chamber! You stay the hell out!" Ilsa and Gregor suspected that the voice belonged to one of the mental patients in the facility. The two ran in, and they encountered another guard. The two shot him to death.

"Looks like the mental trauma in this facility managed to reach the soldiers," said Gregor. He and Ilsa observed the x-rays in the room.

"Timesplitters," commented Ilsa. The x-ray photos certainly weren't about human anatomy. Ilsa then noticed a disk lying behind the dead guard.

"I guess he must have been the one with the disk we're looking for," concluded Ilsa. She then picked it up. Suddenly, the entire room turned flashing red, and the door Ilsa and Gregor went through closed. The dead bodies began to rise, and the siren went off.

"Foreign bodies detected, lockdown initiated!" the speakers in the room announced.

"Zombies!" gasped Locke on the radio, "Blow off their heads!" Ilsa and Gregor took out their pistols and took out each and every zombie in the room.

"No foreign bodies detected, releasing lockdown…" the speakers said. Now that Ilsa and Gregor found the disk they were looking for, they returned to the room with the turbines and terminal. Gregor inserted the disk into the terminal's drive, and the generators started up once again.

Unfortunately, the sirens in the facility went off again. "Danger: Containment failure!" the speakers said. Laboratories 1 and 3 opened, unleashing some more zombies. Ilsa fired the grenades from her rifle's grenade launcher, destroying the majority of the undead. Gregor picked off the remnants of the zombie group with his sniper rifle.

"The entire facility probably heard that alarm," Gregor said, "We need to hurry." He and Ilsa checked laboratories 1 and 3, which contained caches of goods. Lab 1 had a flamethrower, a kevlar vest, and some extra ammunition, while lab 3 had a box of timed mines.

The pair then went deeper and deeper into the mines. There, they found a horde of zombies. Gregor threw his grenades at the cluster of zombies, which managed to destroy all of them. Ilsa went deeper, and she found the Time Crystal next to the bodies of Nikolai and Sergei. She then noticed a huge container next to the bodies, containing a Reaper Splitter.

As Ilsa, she would have been frightened by the looks of the alien creature, but as Cortez, she knew that the Reaper was still trapped within the container, and was harmless. Or at least, for now…

"Pass me the mines," ordered Ilsa, "We need to destroy this thing." Gregor obeyed, and Ilsa planted about five mines on the container.

"Fire in the hole!" shouted Ilsa. She and Gregor ran out of the mines as fast as they could. The explosion caused a cave-in in the area with the container, destroying and burrying it forever.

Then the speakers spoke once more. "Attention! Biological containment has failed in the research facility! Special forces have been deployed. All unidentified personell will be eliminated!"

"I knew the ultranationalists would come back for some more schooling," spoke Gregor. He and Ilsa went back to the generator room, and witnessed a fight between the soldiers and the zombies. There was also a mutated creature in the room, which resembled something half-timesplitter and half-human.

After a lot of gunshots and brawling, there was only a single soldier left. Ilsa and Gregor shot the living daylights out of the man.

"You need to get to the top of the dam," reported Locke, "Since the elevators are working again, you need to use them in order to get there. You've got a lot of backtracking to do!"

Ilsa and Gregor were about to head back up the stairs, when the encountered another mutant. This mutant was on fire! Ilsa retreated, and then shot the mutant in the head, causing it to explode. The two agents then advanced up the stairs, and shoved the soldier that was waiting at the top of the stairs into the zombies, which then punched him to death.

The zombies then went after Ilsa and Gregor. The two stabbed the zombies in the head, and then dispatched another soldier next to the door leading to the showers. More zombies and more soldiers were fighting one floor up, so Ilsa and Gregor watched the two parties fight. After a while, Ilsa and Gregor finished off the victor, and then went outside.

"There! I think they went this way!" one of the guards in the facility shouted. Ilsa and Gregor fought off all the zombies and soldiers outside the building, and headed back to the dam.

There was another cluster of zombies headed for Ilsa and Gregor, so Ilsa used her flamethrower against the zombies, burning them. She and Gregor went into the elevator, and advanced around 6 stories high, up to the top of the dam.

The view from the top of the dam was immense. There, they saw the radar building they sabotaged, the frozen river, and the facility building. On the top of the dam were three turrets, and the two sides of the dam.

Shortly after, a helicopter emerged from the lower river, and was headed for the dam! Ilsa and Gregor ran to the turrets in order to take it down. While Gregor kept firing at the gunship, dodging its fire at the same time, Ilsa covered Gregor's hide against the soldiers that came from the sides of the dam.

Eventually, all of the ammunition from the turrets ran out, so Ilsa and Gregor had to resort to using their rifles. Then, Gregor came up with a brilliant idea.

"Ilsa! Cover me while I try to shoot the pilot!" he shouted. He grabbed his sniper rifle, aimed carefully, and managed to shoot the pilot through the cockpit straight in the brain. The lack of an autopilot caused the helicopter to swerve and crash into the mountains.

"Now what do we do?" asked Ilsa.

"You need to reach the helipad for extraction," answered Locke, "which should be at the end of the tunnel from the other side of the dam." The tunnel was on the side Ilsa and Gregor started on, at the top of the dam. They went through.

There, they met some fierce resistance. Hundreds of soldiers were stationed in the tunnels, so Ilsa had to use her Flamethrower against the large groups of bad guys.

Eventually, Ilsa and Gregor reached the helipad. Unfortunately, Borov was also at the helipad, and he was livid.

"You aren't going anywhere without killing me first!" Borov hollered, "And I won't let that happen!" He pulled out his minigun.

Ilsa and Gregor didn't say anything; they were too busy finding some cover. Ilsa ducked behind a box, while Gregor barged his way through a door. Ilsa knew that she was out of fuel for her flamethrower, so she had to use her pistol to fight Borov. The two fought in hand-to-hand combat, losing their weapons in the process.

Just when Ilsa was about to collapse, Borov was shot in the head from behind. Gregor managed to find his way to the top of the tower overlooking the helipad. The two regrouped at the center of the helipad, and a time portal appeared.

"Get through now!" ordered Locke, "A helicopter will be able to pick Ilsa and Gregor up." The two went through the portal, and Cortez and Hart found themselves back in the Space Station.

"Put the time crystal here," said Locke, pointing to a circular pad next to the controls. "There are still nine more crystals to go."


	5. Chapter 5: Chicago, 1932

Chapter 5: Chicago, 1932

The Chicago of the thirties was not a pleasant place. Crime was running rampant in the city, and, due to bribing and corruption, the law did little to suppress it. And the ones who refused to give into greed and dishonesty were driven out of the city. One person, however, proved to be too determined to be expelled from Chicago.

Detective Jake Fenton, under the agency founded by Lady Jane, returned to the hostile city that booted him out. He sought to bring the leader of the mafia clan, Ludo "Big Tony" Nero, to justice. Fenton sent a letter to one of his goons.

Louis Bignose was waiting nervously outside the alley leading to the Sunrise Hotel, the headquarters of the Chicago mafia. Not even his thick trench coat could prevent him from shaking from both the cold night and the uneventful news that came across the mafia.

"What am I worried about?" he asked himself, "It's not me that has to tell the boss!" He turned around.

"And Braces can handle himself!" Bignose's face brightened, "Yeah! He's going to handle himself!" He then heard a noise within the hotel.

"What?!" a voice shouted.

"He's back in town!" another voice explained. Bignose's mood turned from confident to fearful.

"What?!" the other voice shouted again.

"He's back and he's looking for you!" Bignose watched as a huge man wearing overalls was thrown through the doors of the hotel, colliding at the wall of the alley. Another fat and bald man, wearing a tuxedo, was standing at the doors, panting angrily.

"Braces!" Bignose said as he brought the big man back on his feet, "Come on, stupid! We'll find that rat, Big Tony!" The two hurried out of the alley.

"I want that son of a-"Big Tony ordered Bignose and Braces, before he was interrupted by a few bricks falling out of the hole in the wall of the alley. "I want him dead, you hear me? **Dead!**" Big Tony's shout echoed throughout the streets of Chicago.

Jake Fenton heard the voice from outside his office overlooking a docked barge in a warehouse.

_Dead? _Jake Fenton thought, _We'll see about that. But from now on, Big, you'd better watch the shadows, because I'm taking you down…_

Jake threw his cigar down on the floor, squished it with his foot, and stood up, gazing across the dock in the warehouse from his office through the window. Two armed mafia members were patrolling the area below, hoping to find Jake in hiding. Jake went onto the balcony outside his office, and dropped down onto one of the boxes on the barge. He then approached the goon patrolling the barge from behind and knocked him out with a single Judo-chop. Jake then shot the goon walking on the dock with his silenced Luger pistol in the head rather quickly.

Jake went deeper into the warehouse and dispatched another criminal keeping watch next to the stairwell. He also noticed a wine barrel in this area. Since it was his duty as a cop to enforce prohibition, he shot the barrel in the bottom, effectively draining the barrel dry. He then went up the stairs.

The detective examined the scene through the window on the upper floor. There were three mafia members in this area; one across the floor, two down below. Jake shot the upper member in the head through the windows, hoping the other two would not notice. He went down another stairwell leading to that area, and then shot both of the members before they could shoot back. Another wine barrel was in this very room. Jake drained it, and then exited the warehouse.

Lady Jane was waiting for him outside. Jake told Jane about exacting his revenge on Big Tony.

"I happen to have a civilian contact named Marco who recently defected from Big Tony's gang," she said, "He knows the addresses of all of these phones in Chicago." The phone booth on the street nearby rang, justifying Jane's claim. Jake picked up the phone, not wondering how Marco knew that they were on Saunders Street.

"Hey, it's Marco!" Jake heard inside the telephone booth, "Meet me down near the news stand at the main street!" There were only two ways to advance down this road; through the tunnel leading out of Chicago, or towards the O'Leary's tavern. Not having to think about it, Jake and Jane chose to advance towards the latter. A thug armed with a Tommy gun ambushed both of them when they were advancing on the street, so Jake immediately subdued him by shooting him in the heart, and then took his weapon. Barely a second later, a car was roaring down the street towards him and Jane!

"That's Big Tony's brother trying to smuggle some booze out of Chicago!" Locke said through the radio, "You'll want to prevent his car from reaching the tunnel!" Cortez, in Jake's body, acknowledged this information.

Jake and Jane fired their weapons at the advancing car. The bullets ricocheted off the engine. Then Jake thought for a second, and came up with a better idea. He pulled out his Luger and shot one of the front tires of the car, causing it to swerve into the fire hydrant next to the tunnel.

The pair kept walking on the street, and took a peek in a warehouse by the O'Leary's bar. There was yet another wine barrel and a cache' of supplies inside. Jake emptied the barrel and nabbed the supplies.

Jake and Jane knew that the main street's newsstand was nearby. They then spotted Marco calmly waiting by a fence close to the news stand. As the two approached Marco, he heard the ruckus emerging nearby.

"Looks like there's trouble going on in O'Leary's!" he said, "You'd better check it out before we go anywhere!" Immediately after saying this, gunshots rang within the bar.

"Why I oughta!" a voice shouted from inside. Jake and Jane had to enforce the law there. They advanced through the front door of the tavern, where a thug was pointing his pistol at the barman, who happened to be near the cash register. Jake plugged the thug's head from behind.

"There are more people in the lounge!" the barman said, so Jake and Jane set off there immediately. There were more thugs firing at the inhabitants of the tavern. Jake shot his Tommy gun at two of the thugs, and Jane threw a pool ball on the billiards table at another, knocking him out instantly.

The two cops returned to Marco, and he began to walk.

"Shouldn't we be going faster than this?" Jake asked.

"I have leg arthritis," answered Marco, "so this is as fast as I can go. I'll take you to my home, and I'll give you the information I have." A mobster came around the corner at the back end of O'Leary's.

"I found him! I found him!" he shouted. Jane immediately shot him in the chest with her silenced Luger.

"They'll be all over us!" Marco said, "It's too bad that I didn't bring my gun with me!" He then glanced around the corner where Jake and Jane came through, next to the front end of O'Leary's.

"Looks clear back that way…" he said nervously. As he turned around, another criminal came around a corner on that road. Jake shot the man to death. Immediately after this, another thug ran around the corner at the back of O'Leary's. Jane shot the thug in the head.

As Marco was about to cross the street next to the corner, Jake noticed a sniper on the rooftop of the building on the opposite end of the street. He brought out his Lee Enfield rifle (that he managed to obtain in a recent auction) and plugged a bullet in the sniper's head. He also noticed another sniper in the behind one of the windows in the tall apartment's fourth floor. Jake shot the sniper before he could get a clean shot at Marco.

"Come on; let's get inside before any more of Big Tony's men find us!" Marco said, as he tried to cross the street again as fast as he could (he still wasn't going really fast at all). A thug was running towards Marco on either side of the street, so Jake and Jane managed to subdue the two mobsters in the nick of time.

Marco's home was cramped, as it only contained a kitchen and a bedroom. There was a stick of TNT on the kitchen table.

"You'll need a pass to get through the gates leading to the Sunrise club!" Marco told Jake and Jane, "Tony keeps a spare in a safe. You can find it in Brace's room in the Lexar apartment."

"Where is that?" asked Jane.

"It's the apartment to the right of this building," Marco said, "And I think Brace's room is at the very top of the apartment. I'll try to keep in touch with you via the phones." He then went to his bedroom.

"If I were you," Locke said through the radio, "I'd take that TNT. It's probably the only thing that could bust up a safe in this town."

Jake and Jane entered the Lexar apartment, and noticed a couple of guards patrolling the area.

"I bet Big Tony doesn't want one of his best men's homes to be vulnerable," Locke said, "Expect some 'company' in this apartment."

Jane shot some of the explosive boxes near one of the guards, killing him instantly.

"What did you do that for?!" Jake snapped at Jane quietly so that the other guard wouldn't hear him.

"Just trust me," Jane said calmly, and she then shot the second guard in the head from behind as he was approaching the other guard's corpse. There was also another wine barrel in this room. Jane busted it up with a fierce kick.

The two detectives headed towards the stairwell. One floor above them was a thug keeping watch of the floor outside his room. It seemed that Braces wasn't the only mafia man that lived here. Jake silently shot the man in the head in order for him and Jane to pass without detection. The third floor had another guard monitoring the area, this one near the stairs leading to the upper floor. Jake shot him, and checked in the room of this floor. It had an armoured vest underneath the bed.

The fourth floor was vacant, but there was an abundance of rifle ammo in the room overlooking the street where Marco's residence lied. The fifth floor was likely Braces' room, as the man himself was standing outside the room. He immediately noticed Jake coming up the ladder, so he had to act quickly. Jake shot a few rounds in Braces' chest, yet he was still standing. Jane shot a few more bullets at Braces' crotch, yet he still didn't fall. Finally, Jake rushed at him and punched Braces in the face with an uppercut, bringing him down once and for all!

Jake and Jane examined Braces' room. There was a desk with a sawed-off shotgun, a telephone, and an active fan on it, and there was a rather big safe in the corner. Jake planted the TNT on the safe, and the two evacuated the room before it exploded.

The safe indeed contained a Sunrise club pass, which would allow access to the gates of the fancy restaurant that led to the Sunrise club (it also granted free Taxi rides). The safe also contained an abundance of dollar bills, but Jake, as an incorruptible cop, refused to be a thief (tempting as it was).

The phone on the desk rang, and Jake picked it up.

"Hey! It's Marco!" the voice on the other end said, "Go to the window and check outside, there are some guys out to get you!" Jake went down to the fourth floor and took a look through the window.

True in Marco's behalf, there were three men armed with sniper rifles attempting to assassinate Jake! He immediately took cover behind the wall as Jane was just going down the stairs.

"Head down to the first floor," he told Jane, "I'll handle these snipers!" Jane obeyed, and Jake took out his Lee Enfield.

One of the snipers was in a building on the opposite end of the street, looking through the window of its highest floor. Jake took a quick shot at the sniper, and the bullet went straight through the man's heart. He then noticed another sniper on the rooftop of the building straight across from Marco's place. Jake fired his rifle at him, eliminating him effectively. The last sniper was on the ground, next to the lamp post below the first building of this paragraph. Jake shot him with the rifle, and then went down to the first floor to join up with Jane.

Meanwhile, as Jane was just about to exit the apartment, two thugs ambushed her from the alleys! Jane dove at one of them and shot her pistol at him in a matrix-style manner. She dealt with the other one by throwing her pistol at his head, knocking him out instantly.

"The Sunrise club is further down the street," Locke told Jake and Jane, "But you'll have to clear the roads of Big Tony's men before you can enter through the gates."

There were four thugs patrolling on the sidewalks of the street (which was a T-junction), and there were three snipers hiding in the shadows of the buildings. Jake and Jane fired at them, which resulted in a small firefight.

Jake took care of the snipers with his rifle, being sure to be the one who fired first, while Jane wrestled with the three guards. After dispatching all of them, Jake headed for the nearby phone booth.

"I'm calling a cab," he said, "And we'll be able to get past the guards outside of the restaurant."


	6. Chapter 6: Party Crashers

Chapter 6: Party Crashers

Two of Big Tony's guards were standing outside the doors of the restaurant. Slick Tommy was taking a smoke while relaxing on the stairs, and lowered his fedora. Hatchet Sal was adjusting his moustache while sniffing the fresh air outside.

"Did you hear what happened at Braces' place?" Sal asked Tommy, "A couple of nutjobs broke in!"

"I'm surprised they didn't take the cash along with the pass," Tommy said in disbelief, "There was enough in there to buy out Louisiana! Nobody would be that stupid to leave all of that there of they broke in!"

"I wonder what Braces wanted to do with that money."

"I think he just wanted to get health insurance."

A taxi came through the gates in the courtyard. Tommy and Sal approached the road as the taxi approached the restaurant.

"So who are you dropping off?" Sal asked the driver.

"Nobody," the driver replied, "But I do have these crates that I need to deliver to your restaurant. Is the manager here?"

"No," Tommy said, "The restaurant's closed at this hour, but we'll just take them to the kitchen."

As Tommy and Sal were carrying the crates towards the restaurant, Sal was belittling Tommy.

"Nice."

"Hey, I'm just trying to be nice for once, that's all!"

Inside the kitchen, Jake and Jane busted out of the crates.

"The Sunrise club is behind the restaurant," Locke said through the radio. Jake and Jane explored the inside of the vacant restaurant, but couldn't find any way out other than the main entrance.

"We'll have to find out the way to the Sunrise club through those guards," Jake muttered.

Tommy and Sal were back at their posts, keeping watch of any intruders in the courtyard. Little did they know that their biggest threat would not approach in front of them.

"Gotcha!" Jake shouted as he leaped onto Sal, pinning him to the ground while Jane knocked Tommy out cold with a judo chop.

"Tell us how to get into the Sunrise club!" Jake shouted at Sal, bringing him up by holding his collar.

"Never!" Sal responded and spat at Jake. Jake, the reactive detective he was, wiped the spit off his face and kicked Sal in the crotch.

"Alright!" Sal squeaked, "There's a picture of Big Tony in the kitchen! Tilt it and you'll open up a secret entrance leading to the alleys just outside the Sunrise Club!" Jake and Jane left him and headed towards the kitchen.

When they were out of sight, Sal struggled towards the phone booth near the entrance.

"Big Tony? You're about to have a bit of company..."

Inside the Sunrise Club, Bignose and Jimmy Needles were heading towards Big Tony's office.

"Jesus, Fenton just doesn't give up does he?" Bignose asked.

"He's going through the alleys to the Sunrise Club as we speak," Needles said, "Looks like Tommy and Sal weren't competent enough to defend this place."

"Agreed, I haven't a clue why Big Tony didn't put **us** outside in that courtyard, we wouldn't have made the same mistake!"

"And that Sal! What a nut! You remember how he always cut off the right hands of the people that he killed?"

"At least he doesn't insist on having half a cantaloupe melon, two fresh grapefruits, and a glass of chilled cranberry juice every morning!"

"It's for the sake of nutrition! What other mix of fruit gives you those kinds of nutrients?"

Before long, Bignose and Needles reached the doors leading to Big Tony's office. Needles knocked on the door, and Big Tony's butler opened it for him. Needles and Bignose entered the office.

"That dirty detective's really out to get me!" grumbled Big Tony, "I want you two to hide this key that unlocks the impenetrable doors to my office somewhere in the club! And don't even think of flushing it down the toilet!"

Jake and Jane were making their way through the alleys, and found the entrance to the Sunrise club. They went through the doors, and walked through the hallways of the club. The club had walls painted red, and a floor so shiny that the sun would blind itself if it were to approach the floor. The two then reached the foyer.

"Attack!" a voice shouted. Five thugs ambushed the two cops as they were just about to go up the stairs. Jake and Jane fired their Tommy guns at the thugs, causing one of them to fall off the banister above the foyer. Jake and Jane went up the stairs after dispatching the rest, and headed straight for Big Tony's office.

"It's locked!" gasped Jake as he attempted to open the doors, although he really wasn't too surprised at all.

"You'll need to find the keys to open those doors," Locke said, "They should be somewhere in the Sunrise club, Big Tony wouldn't just lock himself in his club forever just to avoid you."

Jake and Jane headed for the club's bar, hoping to get some information out of the bartender. At the bar, Jane found a box of TNT on the counter.

"There they are! Don't let them find the key!" Jake and Jane turned around to find Tommy, Sal, and, strangely, Braces pointing their guns at them. Jake took out his Shotgun and fired at Sal. The force of the Shotgun blew Sal right through a window in the bar. Jane threw the TNT at Tommy, which then got stuck on his body.

"Ahhh! Get it off me! Get it off!" Tommy shouted as he ran frantically out of the bar. There was an explosion in the hallway.

Jake and Jane pulled out their Tommy Guns and fired at Braces' torso for two minutes straight. Braces fell to the ground, and he was confirmed dead.

"Where is that key?" Jake said to himself. He then explored the cash register, and dug through the dollar bills and coins. The key was buried underneath the coins!

"Quick!" Jake said, "Let's return to the office!"

When they came back to the office, Big Tony, Bignose, and Needles were waiting for them with their guns loaded and pointing at the door. They fired at Jake and Jane when they unlocked the door, forcing them to take cover beyond the door.

Jake and Jane came through the door again, this time firing their weapons at the mobsters, suppressing them. Jane threw a knife at Bignose, which entered his chest, killing him. Jake leaped at Needles, and pinned him to the ground. He then punched Needles in the face numerous times, and then shot his head with the Shotgun.

"Fenton! Jane! Get the hell out of my club!" Big Tony hollered. He fired his Tommy Gun at Fenton and Jane, forcing them to take cover in the nearby vases. Big Tony then retreated to his (rather large) balcony outside his office.

"I'll keep watch on the door for any more of Big Tony's henchmen," Jane said to Jake, "Go on and hunt down Big Tony!"

Jake headed to the balcony, which was suspended high above the alleys. As he was slowly walking on the balcony, Big Tony ambushed him from behind, trapping him with his arms.

"Nobody messes with Big Tony!" he said, as he forced Jake towards the ledge of the balcony, intending to throw him off. Big Tony then put one of his arms in his pocket.

"You know what this is?" Big Tony told Jake, showing him a funny-shaped emerald crystal, "This is a sign that I've got more than just my mobsters at my side, and I don't think you can guess what they're like!"

"Actually, I can," Jake said, and then managed to toss Big Tony over his head. As Big Tony was in the air, Jake grabbed the crystal in the air after Big Tony lost his grip on it. Big Tony fell down towards the alleys, and fatally landed on a car parked there. Jake returned with Jane at the office.

"I have the crystal," Jake said to his uplink.

"Good, the portal is waiting for you at the foyer," Locke replied, "I'm detecting massive temporal fluctuations inside the Sunrise Club. I bet it's the 'Splitters!"

Jake and Jane ran through the hallways towards the foyer. In the hallways, they encountered a Scourge Splitter armed with a Luger. The two acted quickly and took it down. At the foyer were two more Scourge Splitters, hoping to get the jump on the two police officials. The portal was indeed on the stairs inside the foyer, so Jake and Jane jumped through the portal.

As Cortez and Hart leaped out of the time portal, Locke had something to say.

"Nice job on obtaining that crystal, but the 'Splitters know of what we're doing. Looks like they have another time portal, and they're using it to transfer forces to the places you're going once you've grabbed that crystal!"


	7. Chapter 7: Notre Dame, 1895

Chapter 7: Notre Dame, 1895

It was a normal day on the small island of Ile de la Cite, where people would normally walk out of their homes and head to their working facilities. Mostly during the night, the townsfolk would stop by taverns and spend the night socializing and talking about rumours. During the night, however, things often got a bit too mysterious and scary.

Viola de Gaulle was walking towards the local bar after a long day of bounty-hunting. The sun was beginning to set. On the way there, she noticed a poster on a wall near an alley. It was an advertisement.

"Join the cult of time!" the poster said. It depicted a masked priest putting an unfortunate maiden on top of a crucifix. Surely this was no holy cult.

_What kind of sick individual runs this sort of group?_ Viola thought. She then went onward towards the tavern.

She entered and sat next to the nearest open table. A huge man also sat near the same table. He wore a derby and had an unmistakable moustache and beard, plus mutton-chops.

"Good day," the man said, "I don't suppose you're interested in what I'm here for."

"Go ahead," Viola replied, "I could use a bit of story-telling to get my mind off a rough day."

"I'm from England, and I'm here to investigate what seems to be numerous kidnappings and murders," the man explained, "Paris' law enforcement has asked me to come here and clear things up.

"Have you heard of the Cult of Time? I've asked people and they suspect that this brotherhood is responsible for these crimes."

"Yes," Viola responded, "I'm listening."

"I could use a bit of help to crack this mystery," the man said, "Who knows what might happen?"

"My name's Viola," Viola said "And I'm an adept bounty hunter."

"Very good," the man nodded, "I am Thomas Underwood. Shall we meet again at the alley near Charlemagne Street tomorrow once we obtain more information?"

"Sure."

During that very evening, Viola examined the window outside her residence. A mysterious individual, wearing a robe and was hooded to the extent that it was nearly impossible to see the person's head was walking on the street. She went out and began to follow the individual (without being seen of course!).

The individual was heading for the Notre Dame cathedral. Viola sneaked across the church's buttresses next to the windows, knowing that the front door would likely be monitored.

She climbed up onto the second floor and peeked through a small window (the only one that wasn't covered by a glass-stained window). The room inside had numerous people in robes. One person wearing a top-hat, a monocle, and a light jacket stood out among the crowd.

"Bravos, my good followers," the man said, "With our actions, we shall surely please the angels of time!"

"I have a worthy sacrifice with me, Jacque de la Morte!" one of the men in robes exclaimed, "We can use her!" The man brought a frightened maiden with her, likely kidnapped.

"Very well, we shall use her for the culling," Jacque said, "However, at this moment, I must be left alone. You may head back to your homes. We shall meet again tomorrow night."

The members of his cult withdrew from the building. Viola hoped not to be seen by any of them on the way out. She then observed Jacques and the maiden, alone. The sky was getting dark and cloudy, and then it started to rain.

"Why must you do this?" the maiden asked nervously, "You know the lord would never accept sacrifice!"

"Poor girl," Jacque replied, "How typical and untrue your theories of the afterlife must be."

"What are you implying?"

"The hour is at hand. The gates of heaven will be opening for me." Jacque explained as he began to smirk.

"To the likes of you?" the maiden frowned.

"Are you a believer, pretty girl?" Jacques continued, "The angels of time will come, and we shall see your destiny."

Jacques then brought the woman to the cellar. He opened up one of the cells in the basement.

"The angels of time hunger for sacrifice." Jacques concluded, "And to sacrifice a girl of your stature, so pure…

"…**So innocent!** Bwahahahahah!" Jacques began to laugh manically as he threw the maiden into the cell, locked it, and walked away, still laughing.

Viola was observing this the whole time. She could not have believed what she had just witnessed.

The next day, Viola and Mr. Underwood met at the alley near Charlemagne Street. The rain from the previous night had not stopped once. Mr. Underwood was wearing his usual billycock and striped jacket while Viola was wearing a rather colourful jester's costume.

"Who do you think you are, dressing up like that?" asked a very confused Mr. Underwood.

"I often use the guide of a travelling troubadour to cover up my bounty-hunting duties. Nothing lowers the guard of your enemies and targets than a jester's costume," Viola smiled.

"Listen, I've seen maidens get taken to the church at Notre Dame. The Cult of Time plans to sacrifice them this very night!"

"Then we must hurry to Notre Dame," Mr. Underwood concluded, "We don't have much time to waste."

"The main entrance to the cathedral is heavily guarded," Viola warned her colleague, "We'll have to find another way around."

Minutes later, Viola and Mr. Underwood approached a well on the same street as the church.

"You cannot be serious," Mr. Underwood stated.

"It's a bad day to wear your striped jacket!" Viola giggled as she went down the rope to the bottom of the well. Mr. Underwood sighed and followed in after her.

Viola and Mr. Underwood walked slowly across the sewer. There were a couple of rotting corpses lying on the ground. The two dismissed it and kept walking.

Viola sensed something creeping up behind them, and looked back. The corpses became alive! And they were limping towards the two mercenaries, with their arms outward. Viola quickly pulled out her sawed-off shotgun and shot off the heads of the two zombies.

"Jacque de la Morte's work has brought some nasty magic to this place," Viola whispered, "We'd better be careful."

"It's a good thing we came armed!" Mr. Underwood said with relief. He had his own shotgun.

The two entered a room on the side of the canals containing a switch. There were two more corpses lying around in this room.

"Here's a life lesson my family taught me when I was little," Mr. Underwood told Viola, then he shot one of the corpses' heads off when it was still on the floor.

"Double-tap." Viola nodded and followed suit for the other body. They then noticed a switch on the wall.

"I'm guessing this controls the gates in the sewers," Viola assumed, "We'll probably go through this tunnel." She cranked the switch upward.

The pair then went back to the canals. There were two more zombies heading their way! The shotgun blasts echoed through the sewers as the heads of the zombies fell to the floor. Viola and Mr. Underwood went through the tunnel. There was another gate blocking the way. The couple would have been delayed for quite some time had it not been for Underwood finding another switch in the tunnel. The gate slowly elevated upward, and the two crouched under the gate to get through.

Viola spotted a light suit of armour on the floor. As she was about to grab it, a zombie just appeared out of thin air! Viola quickly shot the bejeezus out of the creature.

"Now they're teleporting zombies?" Viola said in disbelief.

"It looks like the Timesplitters know you're here," Locke warned the mercenaries on the radio, "They seem to know how to teleport other beings at this time."

Viola acknowledged the information and went into the room on the other side of the wall. Another zombie appeared out of nowhere beneath the stairs in the room! Viola unloaded her shots on the zombie.

She and Mr. Underwood then walked up the stairs, in hopes of reaching the cathedral. A zombie was teleported to the top of the wooden stairs. Mr. Underwood quickly shot it to pieces in his shocked state. The pair then went up more stairs.

This flight of stairs led to a wine cellar, presumably used for the priests that often shared the supposed blood of Jesus Christ with the church attendants. Viola and Underwood slowly walked around the barrels of wine, when the portcullis behind them shut. They were trapped!

To make matters worse, some firey zombies appeared out of a hole in the wall created by a sudden explosion, and some of the corpses in the wine cellar came to life! The two mercenaries had to react quickly. Viola kicked the head of one of the zombies, while Underwood threw a wine barrel at the firey zombies to extinguish the flames (the zombies would not feel pain to the fire, and Underwood knew that they could easily light up Viola and Mr. Underwood without difficulty). He and Viola retreated when they had to reload their shotguns, until all the zombies were no more.

After taking a deep breath, Viola and Underwood proceeded through the hole. It let to the catacombs underneath the temple…


	8. Chapter 8: Dark Ages

Chapter 8: Dark Ages

As Viola and Mr. Underwood were storming in the subterranean, Jacque de la Morte and his followers met near the church's atrium. One of the monks approached Jacque.

"There have been gunshots down in the cellars!" the monk explained, "It looks like the authorities are onto us!"

"Then we must carry on with the ceremonies at once!" Jacque replied, "Grab your guns and defend this cathedral at all costs! We shall sacrifice, uh, Esmeralda first!"

The maiden Esmeralda was brought to the center of the building, and was then tied up to a rope attached to a ceiling. The rope was then brought up, bringing Esmeralda extremely high above the floor. Esmeralda prayed that she wouldn't fall.

Jacque then talked to the church's janitor. "Quasimodo! Clean up this cathedral this instant! I don't want the angels of time to see the mess that this cathedral is!"

Quasimodo, despite popular belief, wasn't completely deaf. He then went onto his daily routine, grumbling all the way.

The first thing Viola and Underwood saw after entering the catacombs was a maiden tied up to a post, attempting to untie herself.

"Careful in these catacombs," Locke warned the two heroes, "I'm getting a strange reading from this area. Expect a lot of dark magic lurking around here."

Viola and Underwood approached the maiden. Two zombies appeared near her! Viola and Underwood quickly beheaded the two zombies. They then untied the maiden.

"Oh thank you!" the maiden said, "You must hurry! The cultists are planning to sacrifice every one of us in a matter of moments!" She then made her way out of the catacombs.

Another maiden was locked in a cell. When asked, she didn't know where the key to the padlock was.

"We don't have time to find any damn key!" Underwood said, "If books taught me anything, it's this!" He then shot the padlock with his shotgun, destroying it and causing the door to the cell to become ajar.

"I never knew that was possible," Viola blinked with disbelief. A zombie then appeared near the cell, making a beeline for the maiden. She shot the zombie's head off before it could do any damage.

"Merci," the maiden thanked the two zombie slayers after being untied. Viola and Underwood then advanced deeper through the tombs.

There was another maiden tied up to the wall, surrounded by a few more zombies. After decapitating the undead, Viola untied the maiden.

"Something doesn't seem right about this one," Underwood whispered suspiciously. It seems that he was right, as the maiden then attacked Viola!

"What the-"Viola shouted before she spotted the facial deformities of the maiden.

"Damn 'Splitters know how to shapeshift!" Locke muttered through the radio, "Intelligence never told me about that!" Viola, through impulse, shot the monstrosity to bits.

"I hope that monster didn't have a family," Underwood said. Viola didn't really know if Underwood was being serious or sarcastic. It mattered not, as a few more zombies were closing on what appeared to be a legitimate maiden!

After rescuing the maiden (she was indeed real), Viola and Underwood went up the stairs. After "double-tapping" a zombie on the floor, they approached the atrium of the cathedral.

There were quiet chants echoing through the cathedral. Viola and Underwood slowly walked towards the benches. There were three hooded figures praying to a green crystal on the sermon's plateau.

"The crystal," Viola and Underwood said simultaneously. The two snuck around the monks and grabbed the crystal.

"Sinners!" the monks all said, pulled out their Luger pistols, and started shooting at the two mercenaries. Their faces were skeletal, meaning that they sold their souls to the damned.

Not caring to be shot at, the two fired at the blasphemous priests. Another ersatz priest came out of the door on the opposite end of the cross-shaped building.

"The crystal! Give it back!" the priest hollered. Mr Underwood shot first and did not intend to ask questions later.

"Help me!" Esmeralda cried as she dangled from the rope.

"The controls to the rope appear to be on the balcony overlooking the atrium," Locke explained.

The two gunmen went through the door, which led to a spiral staircase. At the bottom was a priest armed with two Lugers. After killing him, they took his weapons.

"Nice," Viola smiled, referring to the twin Lugers.

In the middle of the staircase was a zombie! Due to shock, Underwood panicked and shot his two shells, apparently missing the zombie. He then punched it in the face numerous times before it fell off. They then advanced upwards.

Another undead priest was protecting the rope controls. He went down quickly to Viola's pistols. Underwood then pulled one of the ropes, bringing Esmeralda down safely.

They returned to Esmeralda. Suddenly, a figure busted out of one of the doors. Quasimodo was running towards the two heroes with a shotgun!

In a rather clichéd twist, he fired his shotgun at the zombies that appeared out of nowhere inside the atrium, heading for Esmeralda. It looks like the four had to hold out in the center of the atrium. Quasimodo was a crack shot; he had incredible accuracy with his weapon.

"How did the likes of you become so good with firearms?" Viola asked Quasimodo.

"When you're like me," Quasimodo answered, "You just need a hobby!"

When the zombies stopped coming, Esmeralda kissed Quasimodo on the cheek. He chuckled and then turned towards the mercenaries.

"Thank you very much!" he smiled, "Come on dear, let's go!" They then headed towards the catacombs which led to the exit.

Viola and Underwood's task was still not complete. They had to hunt down Jacque de la Morte and bring him to justice. They went up the many stairs that Quasimodo came through, which eventually led to the balconies overlooking the atrium (on the opposite end of the ropes).

When they entered this alcove, the portcullis behind them closed shut, and a portal was opening up in the middle of the atrium! A demon was slowly walking through the portal!

While they were horrified at the creature making its way through the portal, Viola and Underwood failed to notice the zombies appearing on both sides of the alcove. Before the zombies managed to lay a hand on either of them, they managed to catch the zombies just in time. Now, they had to deal with both the demon, the Cropolite, who could fire explosive magic at them, and the zombies constantly being teleported to the alcove. It wasn't an easy task. Viola focused her shots on the Cropolite while Underwood concentrated on blasting the zombies. After a while, the Cropolite fell, and the zombies ceased spawning.

The battle was hardly over though, for Viola and Underwood knew that Jacque had to be brought to justice. They advanced through the hallway leading to the roofs of the cathedral.

The sky began to rain. One of the undead priests was waiting on the rooftop. More priests came to his aid. Viola and Underwood shot them immediately. They kept running on the rooftop, blasting each and every one of the priests in their way. More priests were being teleported to the rooftops, along with a Scourge Splitter.

"It's one of the angels of time!" one of the priests shouted, "Now we have the upper hand!"

After using quite a few of their valuable bullets, Viola and Underwood managed to take down all the enemies. Soon, Jacque de la Morte himself confronted the two, armed with his own Shotgun.

"You can never defeat me!" he exclaimed, "The angels of time are with me!" As soon as he finished his sentence, Reaper Splitters began to appear on the rooftops.

"This is about to get ugly!" Viola shouted. Underwood focused on the many Timesplitters while Viola ran towards Jacque, dodging his bullets. Soon, they disarmed each other, and were forced to rely on close-quarters combat.

As they fought, they went closer and closer to the edge. Viola then lost her balance and slipped. The only way between her living and falling was a desperate grip on the ledge of the rooftops with both her hands.

Jacque began to laugh evilly, and then placed his foot on Viola's left hand. The pain was excruciating. She let go when she couldn't take any more. Before Jacque could do the same to her right hand, he heard a voice.

"Surprise," Jacque then felt a fist to the face, dealt by Underwood, and Jacque fell into the abyss off the rooftop. Underwood then helped Viola back onto her feet, and the two headed for the portal that appeared near the windows of the holy church.


	9. Chapter 9: Return to Planet X, 2280

Chapter 9: Return to Planet X, 2280

The barren wasteland known as Planet X has been fought over for control for nearly a century. The military directorate on Earth has been suspecting that there has been a UFO base somewhere on the planet, and that it is close enough to fuel an invasion large enough to pacify Earth. Fortunately, the inhabitants, the Mox, have been fighting with one another over who has control of the UFO base. It seems that the Ozor Mox and the Meezor Mox were even less so cooperative than the Greeks of the Classical era.

However, the highest authorities on Earth have decided that having the UFO base on Planet X would still be an issue, despite its control being disputed between the alien species. Although Earth has enough of a force to level the UFO base to the ground, the humans had no idea of its whereabouts on the surface.

And ever since the kidnapping of the cyberbrain that took place on the Planet, hardly anyone would be willing to volunteer to search for the base. That's when Hank Nova stepped up for the task.

"I'll do it," he said, raising his hand amongst the crowd of Earth's finest pilots. He was then sent to Planet X in his personal spacecraft. Naturally, he wasn't escorted alone. A fleet was waiting outside the planet, waiting to attack the UFO base once Hank sent the coordinates of the base. Unfortunately, it was ambushed by a Meezor fleet, and was separated from Hank as he ventured deeper into the planet. He didn't manage to make it to the planet completely unharmed, as he was hit by stray gunfire.

Hank observed the scenery outside of his spacecraft. There were many cliffs that were rectangular in shape, and many plants, surprising for a badlands setting. The sun was shining in the cloudless sky, and Hank smiled to himself, almost forgetting about his objective and the damage of his ship.

Then the radio buzzed, and Hank answered the call.

"Captain, you have veered off target – what's your status? Over," the man on the other end of the radio asked.

"Base," Hank replied, "the squad's engaged with the enemy, but I've taken a direct hit."

"What's your damage sir?"

"The engine's shaky, but I'll be okay if the engine doesn't overheat," Hank reported before hearing a beeping noise coming from the controls immediately after. The engine status was flashing.

"Uh oh," Hank said to himself. One of the wings of his spacecraft went a blaze and a portion of it came off, flying far behind the speeding ship. Hank grabbed the controls on his spacecraft tightly.

"Mayday, mayday! Losing altitude!" Hank shouted as the ship plummeted closer towards the planet's surface.

"Commander, you just keep that bird in the air," the radio consoled Hank, "We're sending someone to pick you up. Over and out."

Hank's ship soared through the tight valleys and canyons of the surface as it was gradually losing control. The controls on his spacecraft began to malfunction, and Hank knew that he had to bail out.

Protecting himself against the sparks emitted from the controls, Hank tried to look forward. He was heading straight towards the cliffs!

"Ah hell," he grumbled. He struggled to get his hand on the eject button. The seat launched him out of the spacecraft, and the ship collided with the cliff with an enormous explosion. Hank was falling to the ground, when he managed to float just before he hit the surface. It seems that his extra accessories on his pilot's suit paid off after all. Hank was then carefully dropped to the surface, while being too tired to notice. A UFO was crashing to the surface as Hank was beginning to look up.

"Gotcha," Hank whispered, then fell asleep on the ground.

He was then woken up by a bit of shaking.

"Hank? Hank?" he heard a voice saying.

"Huh?" Hank said groggily, his eyelids only just opening. The first thing he saw was a gorgeous blond woman trying to get him back on his feet.

"Who are you?" Hank asked the woman.

"I'm Candi Skyler," the woman answered, "Command told me to pick you up after you made your crash landing. The UFO base can't be far from here, there's lots of UFO activity here!"

Moments later, more UFOs appeared in the sky above them. One of them shot lasers, destroying a landed spacecraft near the two.

"There goes our escape," Candi groaned.

"We need to find cover now!" Hank shouted as he ran to the nearest hole and dived in. Candi followed, carrying a large bag.

"What's with the bag?" Hank asked.

"Guns," Candi answered. She passed Hank a laser pistol, "One hundred bucks says we'll run into some unwanted company." She then grabbed another laser pistol for herself from the bag.

"Guess we're in one of the caverns," said Hank, "Let's make our way to the surface." He and Candi ventured out of the cave into a ravine.

"Guess we're **not **in one of the caverns," echoed Candi, "But I'm sure the passage still leads to the surface."

As soon as she said that, a minion of the blue Ozor Mox army teleported right next to them. He wasted no time in getting out his pistol. Hank immediately shot him with his own.

"Yes, I already know," said Hank without a pause in between, "I'll pay you when we make it out of here."

Hank and Candi advanced through the chasm, fighting more Ozor resistance along the way, both on their level and on the narrow ledges above. Eventually, they reached a hole.

Candi jumped down, landing perfectly on her feet. Hank went down next, landing flat on his front, forgetting to activate his gravity stabilizer that had saved him from a fatal crash-related accident before. Fortunately, he managed to recover quickly.

Of course, the falling was the least of the pair's concerns. An armada of spacecraft was gathering outside the beach next to the caves. Hank noticed a few turrets close by, likely used in previous conflicts.

Candi observed the same environment, and she and Hank did not bother to talk to one another, instead saving their energy to make a dash for the guns. They both knew an attack on the beach was imminent!

Just as Hank and Candi laid their hands on the turrets, hostile forces teleported onto the shores of the beach. Unlike the blue Ozor Mox, the red Meezor Mox were much more aggressive, and did not hesitate to attack head-on towards Hank and Candi.

Since aggression had to be fought with aggression, Hank and Candi let loose the bullets inside the turrets. At times, they were forced to fire the few rockets already loaded inside the guns.

Minutes later, after brutally gunning down the Meezor battalion, the two space troopers knew they had to advance. In the process, Hank located a piece of a weapon. Their only way out was blocked by a laser-fence.

Had it not been for Candi's hacking talents, the pair would have been stuck at this beach forever. They went through the now-deactivated fence leading towards more chasms.

An Ozor was heading out of the valleys, too shocked and worried to notice the two space cadets. They took no notice of him, instead taking the contents of a nearby crate (containing a Plasma SMG and a few Plasma Grenades).

When the two advanced through the trough, they found out what the Ozor was fleeing from; a pair of hives was suspended over the valley, and the bees native to the planet were already circling the region.

"Bees. Why did it have to be bees?" muttered Hank.

"There must be a way to get past them," pondered Candi. She began to observe the caverns carefully. She noticed a red "X" painted on the cavern wall next to one of the hives.

Candi brought out the SMG and fired a Grenade right at the X (being a Plasma Grenade, it stuck right on the surface upon contact). The Grenade exploded, bringing down the hive and killing the bees in the process.

"No way," said Hank in disbelief. They found another red X near the other hive, and treated the situation similarly.

"Someone must have visited this place and managed to mark the hives' vital point," said Candi. She knew a Hive had to be supported by something in the environment. Bringing it down would neutralize the Hive for good.

"No time for entomology," interrupted Hank, "We're here to bring down a UFO facility, not collect specimens for your bug collection." Candi gave him a glare, and they advanced through the caves.

Nearing the end of the valley, the two found another crate. This one contained an assortment of weapon parts and tools, but no manual nor blueprints. Hank found it fortunate that he took mechanics and weapon handling; he knew the designs of the parts. Upon finishing the assembly, he was now carrying a dangerous weapon; a MJR Heatseeking Rocket Launcher. It was capable of firing a salvo of three missiles at a time!

"I doubt we'll find much ammunition for this on this planet," Hank said, "Whoever carried this was really playing with fire."

"The UFO! It's up ahead!" shouted Candi. True to her word, the crashed UFO was imbedded in the sand of the beach ahead. It was slanted slightly, and the top of the spacecraft was reachable from the hill it was dug in.

More UFOs began to close in on the site, and began dropping off Meezor troops. The invaders, surprisingly, did not bother to attack Hank and Candi, who were observing the ongoing events from above the UFO, but instead focused their fire underneath the UFO. A few lasers sparked from the UFO itself against the Meezor. Apparently, the guns defending the UFO were still intact.

"Those guns aren't going to last long against those invaders," said Hank hastily. He fired his pistol at the Meezor battalion. Soon, the two space cadets were fighting against an angry army of aliens on the beach. Before long, the inhabitants of the crashed UFO were coming out to defend themselves.

In the midst of the battle, Hank and Candi sneaked into the UFO. They immediately headed to the UFO controls located at the front of the vessel.

Candi observed the surveillance cameras the UFO was currently monitoring. The cameras were all located at the UFO base she and Hank were looking for. One of the cameras displayed the outskirts of the base, where the Ozor inhabitants were still patrolling the area, unaware of the invasion. The second was inside the UFO hangars, and the third was located in the launch bay, where a UFO was being prepped for flight.

The UFO appeared to be sunk deep in the surface; a hole was located inside the UFO, leading to some underground caves. Hank and Candi both had a gut feeling that it would lead to the UFO base.


End file.
